After starting the season with one win from four matches, the Rams host bottom-placed Queanbeyan at the Wool Shed on Saturday night, and anything less than a win will not suffice.

Boasting a roster that features the likes of American import Adam Ward, former Sydney King Martin Iti, Sydney-based former local Steve Hall and homegrown talent such as Will Howell and Damien Reid, the Rams have quality across the floor.

But Sykes says that matters for little unless the results start to come.

“We need to win, it’s a simple as that,” he said.

“We’re getting more and more desperate because we need to stay in touch with that top four.

“We know Queanbeyan aren’t going to be easy so we need to get a big home crowd there and play our best basketball.”

The Yowies traditionally have posed problems for the Rams due to the sheer size of their playing roster.

The ability to get rebounds as access second-chance scoring opportunities has been their strength.

But the acquisition of Ward, Iti and Paul Adams has bolstered the Rams interior, and with Will Howell and Shayne Dallinger providing outside threats, Sykes is confident his side can kick start their season.

“Size has always been the thing that has let us down, but not this year,” he said.

“I think we’ll be able to go with them through the interior.

“The biggest thing for us is going to be to minimise the patches we go through where we let them get on runs of scoring.

“I probably underestimated how long it would take for us to gel as a squad, and I need to work on our rotations through the game as well to better utilise blokes.

“But I think if we can get a win, get some confidence, we can be there come finals time. To do that we need to start winning and that starts on Saturday.”

Tip-off in Saturday’s match is at 5pm, with the Dubbo under-12s side scheduled to play a curtain-raiser fixture at 3pm to set the tone for the evening’s proceedings.